Presented on Selected Characterstics of Minority Persons in Houston and Parts of Harris County
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 094 023 UD 014 334 AUTHOR Lede, Naomi W.; Dixon, Hortense W. TITLE Urban Minority Groups in Houston: Problems, Progress, and Prospects. A Statistical and Analytical Study. INSTITUTION Texas Southern Univ., Houston. Urban Resources Center. SPONS AGENCY Departm.ant of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 29 Mar 73 NOTE 468p.; Charts on pages 146-163 of this document will not be clearly legible due to print size in the original EDRS P:ICE MF-$0.75 HC-$22.20 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS Age Groups; *City Demography; Economically . Disadvantaged; Employment Statistics; Family Income; High School Graduates; Marital Status; *Minority Groups; Populatico Trends; Racial Distribution; Socioeconomic Status; *Statistical Analysis; *Urban Population IDENTIFIERS *Texas ABSTRACT This document is cne of a series about the conditions of blacks and other minorities f.L. Houston, Texas. Statistics are presented on selected characterstics of minority persons in Houston and parts of Harris County. document is designed to provide data in an organized and systematic *.:ay by bringing together in one convenient source socioeconomic facts about the minority community and by keeping the document constantly up to date through more current reports. Data for the central, city and some suburban rings in close proximity to Houston proper are given when this type of distinction appears to be significant. The major areas treated in this report are: general socioeconomic characteristics, populetip.n and distribution, family and household size, education, employment and income, housing, poverty, politics, health, economic develippment statistics, and other pertinent data on minority problems and accomplishments. The preparation of the volume was guided by three major concerns: the assessment of problems; a review of progress or accomplishments in the light of civil rights legislation; and a general projection of future needs and prospects. Information in the volume is classified according to major socioeconomic and demographic areas. Also, within each area, various subtopics or subdivisiops are used.(Author/OM) BEST COPYAVAILABLE URBAN MINORITY GROUPS IN HOUSTON: Problems, Progress, and Prospects A Statistical and Analytical Study by Naomi W. Led and Hortense W. Dixon Texas Southern University U DEPAR IMEN1 OF 11E41 T. EDUCATION NET. F AWL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION The preparation of this report was financed, in part, from funds provided under HUD Contract No. 1709 with the Urban Resources Center in Texas Southern University by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. FOREWORD by Hortense W. Dixon Director, the Urbar Resources Center The book which follows is a working document of the Texas Southern University Urban Resources Center. The document, which has grown out of an effort to develop linkages between a minority urban university and local government, is a codification of rele- vant data that, when viewed collectively, represents the "living environment" of minorities in an urban area. More than that, it is an attempt to introduce to policy ma<ers a non-entity in the process -- the minority perspective. The organization of this book follows, in a formal way, the most chronic problems of minorities during this century. There is, however, a much deeper criticism of the linear approach that has characterized public policy &ring this period. A careful reading of each section will suggest that the state of affairs in one area is intricately and irrevocably related to each of the other conditions. Tnis working document will be used by the Texas Southern University Urban Resources Center in making PhaseI recommendation to the University administration such program adaptations, innova- tions, and improvements that have the potential for impacting on iii urban problems. It is viewed, similarly, as a being replicable by other black colleges in bringing the unique resources of these institutions to bear on the quality of life in an urbanized society. Perhaps, it will also become a useful resource for policy makers and planners in the public and private sector who share with us a sense of responsibility for the quality of life in the cities. The Texas Southern University Urban Resources Center would appreciate responses from the people who read this document -- responses describing policy alternatives and strategies for change related to the major area presented herein. March 29, 1973 Texas Southern Univelsity Houston, Texas iv CONTRIBUTORS The Urban Resources Center Staff gave invaluable aid in the completion of the document. Twenty graduate urban interns work in the URC. Several of these students collected data for specific sections of the volume. A listing of the contributors and the categories of research for data which they collected may be found below. GENERAL SUPERVISION Kathryn A. Goode, Administrative Assistant in the Urban Resources Center, supervised and edited the complete report. She aided in the computation and statistical analysis of the data. Mrs. Goode holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, with Afro-American Studies as an area of specialization, from Smith College. GENERAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC Alicia H. Mathis, B.A., Social Service, CHARACTERISTICS Prairie View A. and M. College. EMPLOYMENT & POVERTY -Mrs. James M. Spigner, B.A., Elementary Education, Southern University (Baton Rouge). INCOME - Shirley M. West, B.A., Sociology, Alcorn University; attended University of Mississippi Law School. EDUCATION Lankford Bolling, B.A., Psychology, Bradley University. HOUSING - Anne R. Harris, Bachelor in Music Education, Texas Southern University HEALTH - Floyd Briscoe, B.A., History and Biology (Pre-Medical major), Texas Southern University CRIME & POLITICS Birdie Burch, B.A., Sociology and Anthropology, Whittier College. Regina Drake, B.A., Sociology, University of Houston. CRIMINAL JUSTICE Tremaine B. Williams, B.A., Administration of Justice, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale, Illinois). ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Barbara Marcus, B.S., History, Boston University. CIVIL RIGHTS - Lester Siren, B.A. History, Texas Southern University. vi INTRODUCTION The central purpose of this volume is to provide composite data on the minority population of Houston. We have organized the data along interdisciplinary lines in order to provide compre- hensive and current information on many levels. The major sections of this report deal with general socio-economic characteristics, such as employment, population and migration, income, poverty, education and family size; housing, health, crime, economic devel- opment, politics, desegregation, and progress in civil rights for Houston and parts of Harris County. Data on the black population is more extensive than that for the Mexican-American population. In the latter case, only limited information is certain categories was available. In the preparation of the volume, we were guided by three major concerns: the assessment of problems; a review of progress or accomplishments in the light of civil rights legislation; and a general projection of future needs and prospects. The combined effects of this kind of presentation (it is hoped) will provide the means through which an objective status of minority groups in Houston can be established. What we have tried to do is to present, in statistical form, as much information as possible on Houston. Some Facts are included for the total Standard Metropolitan vii Statistical Area, for Texas, and the nation. In some instances, data for these categories are used for comparative purposes. Many subjects of concern have been given brief treatment, and will be analyzed in greater, detail in subsequent reports. This is particularly true for health and crime. Explanations accompanying some of the sections are also very brief. For those interested in further details, the footnotes, sources and special references, and Appendices should be helpful. Much of the statistical data were drawn from the 1970 U. S. Census Reports, abstracts and reviews of special government documents, newspaper articles, United States Department of Labor special reports, the World Almanac, court cases, and other references. Detailed definitions are given for certain items; explanatory notes are in- cluded where appropriate; and adequate references are cited for materials which did not originate with the United States Census reports. There may be some discrepancies in the data collected from the Uniform Crime Reports, as be for data on the crime situation in Houston. Many individual figures do not add up to the totals, as would be expected. No explanations were given in the sources used. We assume some of the data are cumulative, particularly where central city and suburban crime rates are analyzed. Also, there is evidence that the Census Bureau (Houston Chronicle, May 8, 1973) underestimated the overall population by about three percent, with the black population undercount at 7.7 percent of the total black population. This means viii that about 24,000 blacks were missed in the 1970 Census of Population. Generally, a three percent differential is not considered to be as serious as an 8 percent discrepancy, as it is with the black population estimates. Due to this reported omission, any discrepancies between earlier data and some of the current figures elicited from surveys may be attributable to errors in the tabulations. Information in the volume is classified according to major socio- economic and demographic areas. Within each area, various sub-topics or sub-divisions are used